Episode 1-14: Handwarmers ft. Dr. Cait McGee
AV and Peon are joined by Dr. Caitlin McGee in this episode. Dr. Caitlin McGee is a notable esports physical therapist (and BA Guild Wars 2 player). AV and Peon try to keep up as she flexes her extensive knowledge and experience about injury prevention, healthy practices, and overall wellness. Questions What does it mean to be the best in the world and what are the benefits and downsides that come with it? Also, is it really worth it? Peon: I don’t understand what they are asking, you know. I guess we have the PGR, so the number one player is the best in the world, but I guess beyond that, what does it mean to hold that mantle? I think it means that you’re going to face a lot of criticism, you know. There’s phrase it’s lonely at the top. Think about Hungrybox, think about Zero during his reign. You could even think about Ninja on twich, or Dr. Disrespect when he was king of Twitch. These figures that become the face of whatever activity they participate in are under a microscope. You’re going to be rooted against. Even if you’re a really cool guy, people will always poke at you because it’s really easy to punch up psychologically. People really frown on it if a top player is talking about how much a jerk an 0-2 player at their local was. If a player like Hungrybox said that about some random guy at a local he’d be demonized, but many people at locals could talk bad about Hungrybox and say what a bad guy he is. You can punch up in our society, which is something we just accept, so it’s not easy to be at the top, even outside of the game. Is it worth it? I think that if you asked any top player if it’s worth it, they’ll say yes, as least for them it is. That’s something you have to evaluate for yourself. For them, the adversity is worth the success. I heard an expression targeted towards gamers, if you encounter enemies then it means you are heading in the right direction. Adversity just comes with the territory when it comes to accomplishing goals and being a public figure, so I think it’s worth it. Did I cover everything AV? AV: I think you have a lot more experience with kind of being the number one ranked player in your region for the last three or four seasons. Peon: Yeah, but that’s a whole different situation. AV: Right but it exists. Being number one in your region is very different from being number one on the PGR but there are some similarities you can draw from it. Peon: Sure and that goes for everybody that’s favored in a matchup. People always root for the underdog, you know. So, even if you had the number one player in your region, let alone in the world, it comes with downsides. Sure, in my own little microcosm with just myself it’s so much different. I don’t even want to compare myself to Hungrybox or Zero. It’s a completely different level, but yeah, even my own scaled-down success does come with downsides and positives. The positives outweigh the downsides in my opinion. Is it feasible to become a top player while being good at other things? Maybe I’ll condense it down, do you think it’s feasible to become a member of the PGR in Smash Ultimate if you’re a jack-of-all-trades if you have other hobbies and stuff like that? AV: It depends on how you define it. This is a definition problem like most questions. What is being good at other things mean? Does it mean you want to be on the PGR while also being a master ranked chess player? Does it mean that you want to learn how to cook Crème Brule? Does it mean that you want to be good at a certain hobby? In that case, yes, I think most top players need to have some sort of activity outside of Smash. Smash is going to be a huge part of their life, but in order to be good at the game you have to have some semblance of balance. So, there are top players you can see like that. Void is a fairly good League of Legends player and an Osu player. I actually think it’s pretty common to be good at multiple things, especially if you’re at the top, because some of these skills do cross over. Whether it’s possible to be the best at two things, I just default that no it isn’t because it is the statistically correct answer. Obviously, there are exceptions to that rule, but the answer’s no. People at the top are in such a small percentage of the population, like the 0.001 percent, maybe even add one more zero than that. Those people get there by having a pretty crazy dedication to the game regardless of whether it was from two years or ten years. Whether you’re Zane or whether you’re Zero who played from a while back going into the Brawl and Melee days. You’re going to always have this dedication to one game and if you switch, I don’t really see you being on a PGR in two different things. = Navigation Home | Closing Q&A